(FILES) Debra Tice, mother of US journalist Austin Tice who was kidnapped in Syria five years prior, holds a dated portrait of him during a press conference in the Lebanese capital Beirut on July 20, 2017. Syria's interim government vowed on December 12, 2024 to institute the "rule of law" after years of abuses under ousted president Bashar al-Assad, as the United States warned against any action that risked triggering further conflict. The Syrian leadership said it was ready to cooperate with Washington to look for US citizens disappeared under Assad, including on an "ongoing" search for US journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in 2012. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)